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New England Mutiny defender Karen Gurnon (right) has been a mainstay in her team's back line this season. (Photo courtesy of New England Mutiny) |
Not only would they need wins over the Philadelphia Liberty and Bay State Select - the latter coming on the road - but four other matches not involving the Mutiny would have to go their way.
Believe it or not, it all happened culminating in a 5-1 win over Select Tuesday. At 4-6, the Mutiny are in the postseason.
“We feel very fortunate to be in this situation,” Mutiny owner Joe Ferrara said. “We’ve overcome a lot of adversity this year. We kept it together, which is a testament to our coaches and players.”
Ferrara points to the club’s last loss - a 3-1 defeat to the Boston Aztecs July 7 - as its turning point. The Mutiny were in it until the end, as it was a one goal game until Courtney Sobrero scored for Boston in the 88th minute.
“I think winning the last two games gives us a lot of confidence,” Ferrara said. “There’s a lot of tradition here with the Mutiny. Even though we didn’t have the greatest season, I think we should cause some trouble in the playoffs.”
The challenges started before the season, when New England lost what Ferrara called “the four greatest players in franchise history.” Meghan Schnur (Sky Blue FC) and Mary-Frances Monroe (Boston Breakers) went to WPS, while keeper Stephanie Labbe joined Pitea IF in Sweden and Erin O’Grady retired.
Among those that have stepped up in their absence is leading scorer Jenny Maurer and defender Karen Gurnon.
“Jenny is our mainstay, our most dynamic player,” Ferrara said of the seven-year Mutiny veteran. “Karen Gurnon has been outstanding for us.”
Gurnon is among the contingent of several UConn players that feature prominently on the Mutiny’s roster.
Boston Aztecs vs. Lancaster Inferno, Amesbury Sports Park, Saturday, 7 p.m.
The Aztecs have been the class of the East all season long, going 9-0-1 and outscoring opponents by a 30-4 margin.
Boston finished first, but will be playing a Lancaster team that took third place with a 7-1-2 record, as the league based its playoff seeding on teams’ weighted regular season schedules and other criteria (similar to NCAA basketball).
Aztec player/coach Rebekah Splaine admitted Friday the team had some questions over exactly what that criteria was, but said, “At the end of the day, I’m going to support what the league wants to do.”
The Inferno’s one loss this season came to the Aztecs by a 3-1 score May 30 in Pennsylvania. Lancaster scored first, but Boston scored three times in the span of six minutes in the second half to get the win. Based on that game, Splaine said her team is in for a challenge.
“They were a solid team,” she said. “They’re fit, athletic, and they didn’t give up. They were the first team to score on us.”
The Aztecs have benefited from their affiliation with the Boston Breakers of WPS. The Breakers’ developmental players who don’t see a lot of time for the pro club have been regulars in the Aztec lineup, but full roster players Jennie Nobis, Kasey Moore and Fabiana have also suited up for the team at various times this year.
That won’t be the case this weekend as, with seven starters on national team duty, the Breakers are bringing what’s left of their roster to their match with FC Gold Pride Sunday night. Splaine said there is still enough talent, however, to get the job done against Lancaster.
“We’ve worked so hard on our core team,” she said. “We have such a strong team, and we’re confident we can win.”
Among those core players are Alena Thom - whom Splaine calls “the anchor” of the team’s defense - player/coach Meotis Erikson and midfielder Carol Tognetti, who has missed the last couple games with injury but is hopeful to return for the playoffs.
Bay State Select at Millburn Magic, Sunday, 7:15 p.m.
Bay State Select started the season 1-3 and, after a pair of one-goal losses to the Adirondack Lynx and four road games in a row on the horizon, things were not looking good for a playoff spot.
But Select won the first two of those road games – 1-0 at Central Delaware June 6 and 3-1 at Maine June 20 – to begin a turnaround that has seen the team qualify for the playoffs with a 4-5-1 record.
That draw was a 2-2 tie at Stonehill College against the Aztecs, the only blemish on the WPSL East regular season champion’s record. Down 1-0 at the half, Bay State got goals from Jenna Roncarati and Jen Leaverton early in the second to take the lead, only for the Aztecs’ Kristin MacDonald to equalize five minutes form time.
“It took a few games, but once we got going I thought we did well,” said Bay State head coach Jim Leaverton. “We had a couple one-goal games with Adirondack, and we could’ve won both games.”
Select will be hoping to repeat that form against the Magic, rather than what they showed in Tuesday’s regular season finale against the Mutiny.
“We had 11 players starting and three were sick, but that’s no excuse,” Leaverton said. “The Mutiny are a very good team and they had to win. We were caught off guard.”
Offensively, Roncarati and Leaverton have paced the attack. The club has also received a boost from a pair of Massachusetts natives who play collegiate soccer for the University of Cincinnati, midfielder Julie Morrissey and defender Erin Kaufman.
NPSL
Boston Aztecs at Erie Admirals, 6 p.m.
Take away one tremendous shot, and we could very well be talking about the Maine Sting in this space.
With his team down 2-1 late in the June 20 game against the Sting, Aztec midfielder Nick Figueiredo bent in a free kick from a seemingly impossible angle on the left wing for the equalizer. At the end of the season, the Aztecs had one more point than the Sting in the Atlantic Division standings, and it all may have been different had that draw been a loss.
But that’s just part of what has been a great season for Figueiredo, says Boston head coach Mike Kersker.
“He’s been phenomenal. He’s had three game-winners this year,” the coach said of Figueiredo. “He’s dangerous every time he gets the ball.”
Matt Lemire has been a solid performer in midfield this season for the Aztecs. Leading the back line are central defender Chris Ethier and fullback Christian Figueroa, with Pete Kersker - the coach’s younger brother - playing every minute of the season in goal.
An Aztec win would put them in the NPSL Final Four in Milwaukee, but that will be no easy task against the Keystone champion Admirals, who finished 9-0-1 in the regular season. Kersker said a couple of his players are familiar with some of the Erie players from college.
“It sounds like they’re really good team,” Kersker said. “I’m assuming it’s going to be a good fight.”
Mark Goodman can be reached at newsdesk@soccernewengland.com.
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